The downtown complex that spent decades as CNN Center, and that now goes simply by The Center following its rename, is headed into a substantial overhaul. Its owner, the commercial real estate developer and operator CP Group, is the one carrying out the transformation of the 1.2 million-square-foot property in Downtown Atlanta.
The building is physically tied to two of its neighbors. It is connected to State Farm Arena and to the Omni Hotel.
The Center is currently working with three outside partners on the redevelopment. TVS is an architecture and interior design firm, Holder Construction is a general contractor, and Core Twelve is working on the branding for the project.
In a press release, CP Group said the building will become "a hub of world-class retail, dining, content creation, and entertainment." That description is the company's own statement of what it intends for the 1.2 million-square-foot property once the work is done.
CP Group also said it has already leased 10,000 square feet to an unnamed restaurant tenant. The restaurant's identity was not part of the report.
Beyond leasing, CP Group is partnering with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and with two local creative and cultural advocates, Neda Abghari and Bem Joiner, to curate statement artwork for the space.
Several of those art projects are already underway. They include a large-scale interactive digital sculpture placed where the CNN letters once sat, a variety of custom murals, and additional installations in The Center's atrium. Additional details about the artwork are expected to be announced later in 2025.
CNN kept its world headquarters in the building for nearly 40 years. The network moved its Atlanta operations to a new Techwood campus in Midtown in 2024, and the redevelopment now under way is CP Group's plan for what fills the space next.
Reported by Rough Draft Atlanta.
